UNC Wilmington’s Department of Theatre captivates the Mainstage Theatre with the renowned Shakespearian tragedy, “Hamlet,” directed by one of the new UNCW theatre professors, Christopher Marino.

 

Whether you love Shakespeare, or you have treacherous nightmares of him from your high school English class, everyone has heard of “Hamlet.” With the help of Max Lydy (technical director) and Mark D. Sorensen (costume designer), director Marino is able to bring the esteemed production, that he has studied for years, back to UNCW.

 

Christopher Marino, formerly a member at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., has also taught at numerous universities and theaters across the US and England such as Utah Shakespearian Festival, Stella Adler in New York City, George Washington University, University of Maryland. Marino has also guest lectured at Rose Bruford Drama School in the UK making him qualified to understand and take control of such an intricate production.

 

However, even if you have frightful notions of Shakespeare, do not be so quick to run away.

 

“[Hamlet] is more familiar to people than they think,” Marino said. “There’s so many things that have been stolen from this play; from famous lines like: ‘Neither a borrow, nor a lender be’, the often misquoted ‘The lady doth protest too much me thinks’, and everybody knows ‘To be or not to be’, whether you know Shakespeare or not, if someone asks you to show them a line from Shakespeare, they always say to be or not to be.”

 

Playing the condemned Prince of Denmark, otherwise known as Hamlet himself, in the elaborate production, senior  Luke Robbins, captures an audience while playing a tortured and three-dimensional character. With such a daunting role, comes obvious challenges- not everyone can just easily jump into the emotional state of a man trying to avenge his father’s death as his kingdom is being taken over by the killer.

 

“Hamlet is an incredibly fast thinker,” Robbins said. “Getting up to his speed has definitely been challenging, but so much fun. I’ve been very lucky to work with such a great cast, crew, and director.”

 

The cast agreed thatMarino directing the play helped them all to not be afraid of undertaking such roles and also helped them to understand the characters and the plot even more.

 

“When I found out I had been cast, I was really surprised because Shakespeare is not one of my strong suits,”Senior Phill Antonino said. Antonino plays King Claudis in the production.

“At first, being cast as a King was really daunting because anyone who knows me knows ‘kingly’ and ‘Phill’ aren’t necessarily synonymous, but I was also glad to be able to work with someone like Marino, who is an expert on all things Shakespeare,” Antonino said. “It helped me get over the daunting task of performing this classic essential of literature knowing that we were in good hands.” 

It is clear to say that “Hamlet” does present its various obstacles but with the aid of an educated director, the obstacles become less intimidating. A show like “Hamlet” not only pushes its actors, but also teaches them about the craft, the characters, and even themselves in the process.

 

“It is a challenge on every conceivable level,” Marino said. “But every night that they run through it, I hear different things, and it’s like you’re never done with the play… It’s difficult, but it’s difficult in all the right ways.”

 

Everyone that is working on the show is thrilled for the audiences to see how much work they have put into this production. Whether it be the shuddering emotions evoked by the actors on stage, or the fabrication of a script that the crew put together by taking parts from different versions of “Hamlet”, the audience is sure to become fans of the show if they already aren’t.

 

“We’ll be bringing something a little different since our text is based off of Quarto 1,” Robbins said. “For longtime Hamlet fans, I think they’ll enjoy seeing the differences in the script. I think first time Hamlet (or Shakespeare) viewers will enjoy how visceral this version is.”

 

“I think people who are scared will love it because we worked so hard to find the human emotions behind everything that’s being said because…they feel the same needs and wants, and showing the audience that will give them something to latch onto,” Junior Kaleb Edward Edley said. Edley plays The Ghost of Hamlet’s Father.

 

Marino and the cast have strived to make the production easy to relate to and demonstrate that it is not as foreign as people may think. Even if you have not seen or read Shakespeare before, the audience should be able to understand what is going on and, hopefully, connect with it.

 

“Hamlet” opens Feb. 19-22, and plays again Feb. 26–Mar. 1 (Thursday–Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.), in the Cultural Arts Building’s Mainstage Theatre. Tickets are available at the box office for $5 for UNCW students, $10 for UNCW staff and faculty and $12 for general public.